Over 660,000 tons of phone books enter the waste stream annually. Only 20% get recycled. Nearly 70% of adults in the U.S. "rarely or never" use the phone book.

If you are tired of getting tons of junk mail in your mailbox and would like to save trees, reduce the waste that goes into our landfills and care about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there is a way you can make a difference.

Catalog Choice is the largest independent mail preference registry in the United States. When you sign up, it's FREE and you get to opt-out of receiving all forms of advertising mail and unwanted phone book deliveries. The great thing about Catalog Choice is that with a database of more than 5,500 titles (and increasing daily) that you choose what you want to opt-out of receiving. Under the Fair Information Practice (FTC), your information will also be kept private and be protected.

It is estimated that up to 15% of the waste that goes to the landfill is food waste that can be composted. A number of businesses in Ventura are already on board with the E.J. Harrison & Sons, Inc. and Agromin Food Waste Program. The newest participant assisting in diverting waste from the landfill? The Ventura County Fairgrounds. From July 31 - August 11, 2013, the Fairgrounds, home to the 138^th Ventura County Fair, diverted 6.59 tons of food waste from going into the trash and ultimately our overcrowded landfills.

"We've had a lot of success with the food composting program working with other local businesses and events, and so I thought that approaching the Fairgrounds to become part of the Food Waste Program during the fair operations would be a great way to continue our commitment to zero waste," said Donald Sealund, Field Representative for E.J. Harrison & Sons, Inc.

"We spoke with all the vendors about the program the day before the fair commenced," continued Sealund. "Then we followed up with each vendor on a daily basis to ensure the program was operating according to plan."   READ MORE.  

The start of the new school year is a great time for parents and adults to teach teens and children about sustainable living.  Here are some green tips that demonstrate how you can practice livin' green!  READ MORE. 

On a panel with two others, Jill spoke about the City's pilot recycling program at EP Foster Elementary School.  The program includes a classroom presentation for all grades, paper recycling in the classrooms and offices, student-led waste assessments, food waste composting and milk carton recycling in the lunchroom. 

In November 2012, the City of Ventura, EJ Harrison and Gold Coast Recycling met with the National Carton Council, an organization that promotes recycling of cartons, to find out how cartons could be recycled in Ventura.  EJ Harrison and Gold Coast Recycling applied for a grant from the Carton Council to assist Gold Coast with modifying their recycling equipment in order to capture this valuable resource.  As a result, milk, soup, juice and other cartons, which used to go into the trash and wind up in the landfill, can now be recycled with such items as plastic, metal and glass containers.

"Our program stands out from others in three ways: first, we engaged many stakeholders to help identify goals and set targets; second, we educated the students and faculty and most importantly, the custodians about the program's goals and benefits and finally we had the students participate in the lunch waste assessments which gave them a first-hand look at just how much trash they were generating every day," said Sarick.

Since implementation, EP Foster custodian, Judy Melton reports a reduction in the amount of trash bags from 44 to just 7 daily.  They were able to reduce their trash service, thereby saving the school money. 

The California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA, founded in 1974) is California's statewide recycling association. It is the oldest and one of the largest non-profit recycling organizations in the United States. They are dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability in and beyond California through Zero Waste strategies including product stewardship, waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting.

In May 2013, the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Division presented a funny, educational skit to the students at EP Foster.  The performance was filmed with the intention of sharing this information with other schools who wish to implement a similar program.   This presentation is available on DVD.  To get a copy of the DVD and/or for more information, contact Jill at jsarick@cityofventura.net or call her at (805) 652-4501. 

EP Foster Elementary School Recycling Programs